Shoe lasting



June 4, 1940. s. AzzmA 2,203,247

SHOE LASTING Filed May 9, 1939 INVENTOR. SANTO AZZ ARA BY gm XVQZM Sfi/s ATTORNEY.

Patented June 4, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shoelasting and moreparticularly to improvements in the methods of lasting shoes.

Heretofore in making shoes'of a type particularly adapted formanufacture according to the present invention, the upper and the insolehave been laid or placed on a suitable last and secured temporarily inany suitable manner, the upper being usually secured to the last by afew tacks driven through the material of the upper and into the last.Then in the following operation of drafting, suitable adhesive material,such as cement, has been applied and, except at the heel, the lower edgeof the upper has been drawn around the edge of the insole by successivepulls at short intervals apart to smooth the upper on the last. As eachpart is drawn over the edge of the insole to the desired extent, it issecured in position by tacks placed relatively close together. Uponcompletion of the drafting operation there was a line of closely-spacedtacks extending around the edge of the forward part and the shank andserving to hold the upper in position until the cement hardened andsecured the upper firmly to the insole. At the heel portion the upperand counter were fastened to the insole in any suitable manner, as bytacks or nails driven through the upper, the counter and the insole, andclinched by driving them against a metal plate on the heel of the last.

Then the tacks were Withdrawn one by one around the forward portion andthe shank of the insole, and the edge of the upper cemented to theinsole was trimmed and the cut off portion was removed.

This prior method had many disadvantages. The tacking of the edges ofthe upper to the insole and the last tooka great deal of time and thesame was true in regard to the later removal of the tacks. Furthermore,in' removing the tacks rapidly there was considerable danger of missingvsome of them. It might be necessary therefore to examine the Workcarefully to see if all tacks had been removed. 'If any tacks werefinally left in the shoe they might cause a great deal of trouble. Aftertrimming the edge of the upper there might be considerable trouble inremoving the cut-off pieces due to cement which would tend to hold themon the insole.

Another great disadvantage of the prior methods arises from the factthat the driving of so many tacks into the bottom of the last broke upand roughened the surface thereof so that tacks driven later might nothold and, what (Cl. 12-145) H.

is particularly important, this roughness would be imparted to theinterior of the shoe and render it uncomfortable to wear. As a resulteach last would have to be replaced after short service and the cost ofthe shoes would be increased 5 considerably due to the fact that thelasts are quite expensive.

An important object of the invention is to provide novel andadvantageous improvements in shoe-lasting. A further object is toprovide improvements in shoe-lasting of the character describedwherebythe aforesaid and other disadvantages of prior shoe-makingmethods will be avoided.

In carrying out the present invention, in an approved manneijuse may bemade of a false insole applied temporarily on the bottom of the insolebut removable therefrom after the cement has set and thoroughly securedthe edge of the upper to the bottom of the insole. Said false insoleextends from the front of the heel seat to the front end of the shoe butis enough smaller than the regular insole to leave a suitable margin ofupper secured to insole at the edge of the false insole when trimminghas been effected prior to removal of the false insole. The false insoleis provided with a series of closely arranged pins projecting from oneface thereof along the edge, which pins will serve just as effectivelyin holding the upper material in position as did the tacks formerlydriven into the last. A convenient way of providing such pins is todrive tacks through the false insole so that the pointed ends of thetacks serve as pins.

In carrying out the invention the upper and regular insole are laid orplaced on the last and the false insole is laid on the regular insolewith the pins projecting away from the last. The false insole may besecured in position in any suitable manner as by driving two or moretacks therethrough and into the last. Then the cement is placed betweenthe upper and insole and the operator starts the drafting operation inwhich the upper is drawn tight over the edge of the insole and forceddown on the adjacent pins as by hitting the material adjacent to thepins with some relatively light object.

This operation is carried on, step by step,

around the front part and shank of the insole 50,

until completed, thus assuring the holding of the upper in positionuntil the cement has set. With this arrangement it may be possible totighten the upper at any particular point by bending the pin or pointedpart of a tack toward the central part of the false insole after theupper has been impaled on such pin.

After the cement has set the edge of the upper at the bottom face of theregular insole may be trimmed using the edge of the false insole as aguide. Then by removing the false insole with the cut-off portionthereon, the shoe will be made ready for the application of an outsole.

The false insole is very cheap and easy to produce and by its use notonly saves the lasts from damage and assures their long life but verymaterially shortens the time of production of each shoe by avoiding thedriving of so many tacks during the drafting operation, and also thelater pulling of such tacks. Another advantage results from the coveringof the regular insole by the false insole at points where cement wouldordinarily but disadvantageously be applied to the regular insole.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear upon consideration ofthe following description and of the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view embodying one form of false insole used incarrying out the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary bottom plan view illustrating a last with anupper, a regular insole and a false insole assembled thereon as requiredduring the setting of the cement between the regular insole and theupper, parts being broken away to show underlying structure; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, similar in general to Fig. 2 butillustrating the false insole as partially removed after the trimming ofthe upper material.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated in Fig. 1 a device l0which, for reasons that will be apparent later, may be called a falseinsole. The device In may be made up of a body or member ll of suitablesheet material shaped in general like an insole and provided at one facewith projecting pins l2, which pins may conveniently be the pointed endsof tacks driven through the sheet material from the other face.

In Figs. 2 and 3 are illustrated the relation of different parts insuccessive stages of manufacture. An upper l3 and an insole M are laidon a last l5 in the usual manner.

However, preparatory to the drafting operation, the false insole I0 islaid on the insole it with its pins l2 projecting outwardly from theinsole and the last. In order to function as desired, the false insoleH] is made suificiently smaller than the regular insole l4 so that therewill be left along its edge a sufficient margin of the regular insole topermit a strong attachment of the upper to the regular insole by meansof adhesive.

After the false insole H] has been placed in. position on the insole Mand secured to the last l5 with its edge properly positioned withrespect to the edge of the insole M, adhesive may be inserted betweenthe edge of the upper l3 and the insole l4. Then in the draftingoperation, the edge of the upper is engaged at different successivepoints in succession and as soon as the material at one point is pulledover the insole I4 far enough to remove wrinkles in adjacent parts ofthe upper on the last the edge of the upper is forced down on adjacentpins l2, this operation being continued until carried completely aroundthe part of the false insole provided with pins I2.

Then, after the cement is thoroughly set, trimming is effected aroundthe edge of the false insole in leaving it ready for removal asindicated in Fig. 3, such removal completing the preparation forapplication of an outsole not shown. In this connection it will beapparent that the false insole will protect the corresponding surface ofthe insole from application of cement thereto.

It will be evident that, according to the present invention, there is agreat shortening of the time necessary for making the shoe and the lastsmay be used a great many times without substantial damage. Both of thesefeatures tend to provide for economy in manufacture and reduce themanufacturing cost of the shoes.

It should be understood that various features may be changed and thatcertain features may be used without others, without departing from thetrue spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The method of lasting a shoe having an insole by using a false insoleof smaller size than the regular insole and having pins projecting from.one face thereof at close intervals along its edge, which compriseslaying the shoe upper and an insole on the last, laying the false insoleon regular insole exposed and having the pins exposed, applying cementbetween the edge of the upper and the insole, drafting the edge of theupper over the insole from point to point and securing it on the pins assoon as it is properly positioned.

2. The method of lasting a shoe having an insole by using a false insoleof smaller size than the regular insole and having pins projecting fromone face thereof at close intervals along its edge, which compriseslaying the shoe upper and an insole on a last, laying the false insoleon the regular insole so as to leave a margin of the regular insoleexposed and having the pins exposed, applying cement between the edge ofthe upper and the insole, drafting the edge of the upper over the insolefrom point to point and securing it on the pins as soon as it isproperly positioned, trimming the edge of the upper along the edge ofthe false insole as a guide, and removing the false insole with theupper material on the pins thereof.

3. The method of lasting a shoe having an insole by using a false insoleof smaller size than the regular insole and having pins projecting fromone face thereof at close intervals along its edge, which compriseslaying the shoe upper and an insole on a last, laying the false insoleon the regular insole so as to leave a. margin of the regular insoleexposed and have the pins exposed, applying cement between the edge ofthe upper and the insole, drafting the edge of the upper over the insolefrom point to point and securing it on the pins as soon as it-isproperly positioned, and removing the false insole after the cement hasset.

SANTO AZZARA.

'30 the regular insole so as to leave a margin of the ill

